Phantom: Hunter & Hunted
by LizzieLovett2326
Summary: This is the second story in my retelling of the Danny Phantom series. Bear with me on this one, it's definitely different from the second episode of the series. Basically: Danny fights a dragon, asks Paulina to the dance with a special necklace, and realizes far too late (with the help of a mysterious character) that he messed up, big time.
1. Chapter 1

Hunter & Hunted

ONE

"Dude, check out the cheerleaders," Tucker said to Danny. He pointed to the girls in front of the school that were shakily pulling themselves into a pyramid. The head cheerleader, Paulina, stopped them.

"Come on!" she said, "Energy! We want our teams to win, right?" The other girls gave a well-practiced round of clapping and squealing.

"Come on Tuck," Danny said, "Let's just go to detention so we can get on with our lives."

"Don't be such a grump 'cause you know you don't have a chance with Paulina."

"I'm a grump because there's a dance this Friday, neither of us have dates, and you won't shut up about it," Danny retorted as he and Tucker walked into the school.

"Hey, I'm going to get a date!" Tucker said, "You just wait."

"You've asked three girls already. None of them knew who you were. All three are outside in practice right now," Danny said. They reached the classroom next to Mr. Lancer's office, where detention was always held.

"You forget, they were all seniors," Tucker said, "I was setting the bar high. I've got a couple freshmen picked out anyway."

"Whatever," Danny said, walking into the classroom.

"Gentlemen, thank you for joining us," Mr. Lancer said. Danny walked over and took a seat next to Pyro Peter. Pyro grinned at him.

"Two weeks dude? What d'ya do?"

"Mr. Anderson, that's not something to be proud of," Mr. Lancer said. He looked harshly at Danny, who shrugged.

"Anyway, work on something productive, and don't leave your seats. I'll be right back," he said, and left the room.

"Seriously," Pyro said, "What did you guys do?"

"He started a food fight," Danny said, pointing to Tucker, "I'm guilty by association." Pyro nodded and laughed.

"Alright, if you don't wanna tell me, that's cool," he said. Danny rolled his eyes, and pulled out some math homework he needed to finish for Monday. He picked up his pencil and tried to concentrate on how to calculate angles of different shapes. Of course, as he pushed himself to focus, his mind wandered off all on it's own. He noticed Pyro clicking his pen slowly. Cla-click. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Cla-click. One Two Three. Four. Five. Cla-click. Tucker was fiddling with his phone under his desk, glancing up at the door every few seconds to see if Lancer was coming back. A couple of the other kids were having a whispered conversation about the dance on Friday.

Sighing, Danny put his pencil down. He wasn't gonna be productive, and he knew it. Instead, he leaned back in his desk, and looked out the window. He could see the cheerleaders practicing out front. Paulina jumped up and down, demonstrating cheer moves for the other girls, and shouting out peppy rhymes. Her ponytail bounced back and forth, and the morning sun made her skin shine like copper. She was easily the hottest girl in Amenity Park.

"Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer said, making Danny jump, "Surely there is nothing more interesting out the window than the geometry homework on your desk."

"No sir," Danny said. He picked up his pencil and went back to his work.

"Thank you Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer said, sitting back down at the teacher's desk. Silence filled the room. Leaning back in his desk, Pyro started clicking his pen again. Cla-click...cla-click...cla-click...cla-click.

"Anderson," Mr. Lancer snapped. Pyro snickered, but stopped.

Danny leaned forward, propping his head up with his left arm. In the room around him, pencils scratched at paper, feet tapped the floor lightly, and the occasional chain of coughing passed through the rows of students like the wave. Was it getting warmer? Danny thought about taking his jacket off, but it seemed like so much effort. He blinked, trying to keep his eyes from drooping. Still, he hadn't gotten much sleep for the last few nights. Nightmares...about the ghost of Mary Stugers. She was throwing meat at him, while Tucker and Sam led warring riots in the background. It was bizarre. The sun warmed his back as he leaned even further forward in the desk. It was weird though... for a second there, he could've sworn he shivered.

Next thing Danny knew, he hit the ground. Half of him did, anyway. His legs were still up in the seat of the chair, but he had somehow fallen through the bar of the desk, his right shoulder taking the brunt of his weight.

"Fenton, are you alright?" Mr. Lancer asked. Danny twisted awkwardly, and his legs slid out of the desk. Had he phased through the bar? He sat on the floor, blinking and trying to get his bearings. Mr. Lancer came over and helped him up.

"How did you-never mind," he said, "Are you...feeling okay?" Danny blinked. Well, his shoulder was sore, but it seemed okay. And he didn't think his head hit the ground. But he had to get out of here. If he really did sense a ghost nearby, there was going to be trouble.

"I think my shoulder is hurt," he said, grabbing his right arm. Mr. Lancer sighed, and rubbed his temples.

"Okay, I think the trainers are on campus for cheer practice. Let's go see if we can get them to look at you. And for everyone else, stay seated and keep working. If I come back and one person is gone, it's two more weeks for all of you, understand?" Mr. Lancer didn't wait for a reply, but put a hand on Danny's back and led him out of the room.

"Come on," he said, "This way." They walked through the halls wordlessly. Danny never really spoke to Mr. Lancer, not before Tucker dragged him into the whole food fight thing. The man had always been the stick-in-the-mud dean of students who sent kids to detention and tracked down rule-breakers like a hunter in open season.

"How did you manage to fall out of the desk like that?" Mr. Lancer asked as they rounded a corner. Danny nearly shrugged, but caught himself before he moved his 'hurt' shoulder.

"Dunno," he said, "I kind of...sorta...fell asleep for a minute. And then I was on the floor." Mr. Lancer shook his head.

"I suppose weirder things have happened," he said, as they passed the cafeteria. Danny followed his gaze to the disaster zone. The school had shut down for two days as crews came and cleaned up the hallways, but the cafeteria was going to be closed another week for repairs.

"What do you think happened in there?" Danny asked, "Do you think it was a ghost?" Mr. Lancer scoffed.

"Ghosts don't exist, Danny," he said, then seemed to realize who he was talking to, "Of course, I know your parents are paranormal researchers, but it just seems unlikely." Danny shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. They're crazy," he said. And right. But mostly crazy.

"Anyway," Mr. Lancer said, "I don't know what happened. No one does. But everything is back to normal now." They walked through the gym to the athletic offices.

"Here we are," Mr. Lancer said. He opened the door to the trainers' room, but no one was there.

"Wonderful," he said dryly, "I'll go track them down. Just wait here and don't touch anything."

"Okay," Danny replied. He walked into the room and sat down on one of the examination tables. When he heard the door at the end of the hall swing shut, he jumped up. He would take a quick check around the school, just to make sure nothing weird was happening. He'd be back long before Lancer even found the trainers.

Danny shivered again. Good, whatever it was, it was close. He walked into the hallway, looking for strange figures, or mysterious lights, or odd shadows. He saw nothing. But...he heard something. It sounded kind of like a roar. And it was coming from outside.

Danny ran to the door at the end of the hall, and burst outside, right into the face of a giant dragon. Yes. Dragon. Complete with scales, wings, and fiery breath. Danny skidded to a stop, and dodged out of the way as the dragon belched flames at the door. The beast whipped its head around to see him, and roared again. Danny scrambled to his feet and started running. Dragon! A real dragon! Last time he checked, dragons didn't exist. But then again, neither did ghosts. Danny heard flapping wings, and then the dragon crashed to the ground in front of him. The world shook, throwing Danny off of his feet. The dragon drew its head back, and opened its mouth to reveal a row of very sharp teeth. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the large fireball that was headed straight for Danny's head.

Danny wrenched his eyes shut, trying desperately to call upon his powers. He could feel the fire seconds away from hitting him, the heat baking his skin.

"Going ghost!" he yelled. Coolness washed over him. Danny opened his eyes and looked down. Sure enough, he had turned ghostly and intangible just in time. The dragon roared, and shot another fireball at him, but Danny flew up into the air. The fire struck the ground, and burst into little sparks, leaving a scorch mark on the concrete.

"What the heck?" Danny said. Now that he was above it, he saw the dragon was translucent. He could see to the ground right below it. Almost like the dragon itself was a ghost.

"Ghost of a dragon. Okay. I can deal with this." he said. The dragon spotted him in the sky, and roared again. It spread its wings and launched straight upwards. Danny dodged a claw, and flew around the beast, trying to find a weak spot in the coat of shining scales. The dragon followed him, spinning sharply in the air-too sharply-and thundering past him. Watching the clumsiness of the creature, Danny had a sudden thought. Maybe if he... He got the dragon's attention again, and started flying in circles around it. Too large to follow his movements, it blundered about after him, letting out bursts of fire and roaring when it couldn't get him. Now if he could just find a way to bring it down...

Before Danny could get much further in that train of thought, the dragon let out a roar that sounded more pained than anything. Danny looked back at it, but the beast had lost all interest in him. Instead, it writhed in the air, spewing flames erratically. Danny dodged a string of fire, and backed farther away. He wasn't sure what had happened, but the dragon was obviously in pain. With one final roar, the creature burst into flames and fell into the parking lot, fading away into nothing but black marks on the pavement.

Danny blinked, not sure what he had just witnessed. Cautiously he floated down to the parking lot and examined where the dragon had been. Nothing was left of the creature. Danny turned, and was about to leave, but something shiny caught his eye. He crouched down, and picked it up off the asphalt. It was a necklace: a green stone on a long silver chain.

As Danny stood, he found he was once again human.

"Good timing," he muttered to himself. He shoved the necklace in his pocket and started run back to the trainers' room before Mr. Lancer realized he had gone. Running into the room, he sat down on the table just as the door to the gym opened and voices filled the hallway. Mr. Lancer entered the room with two trainers in tow. Danny jumped off the bed.

"Hey, I think my shoulder is okay, now," he said, "Doesn't even hurt." He swung his arm around to demonstrate.

"We should go back to detention," he said quickly, "Who knows what those guys are up to?" He tried to walk past Mr. Lancer, who didn't budge.

"Are you sure Mr. Fenton?" He asked, "You don't want any ice for it?"

"Nope! It' s just fine!" Danny said. Mr. Lancer narrowed his eyes.

"Alright... Sorry guys, I guess it wasn't so urgent after all," he said to the trainers. They shrugged and said it was alright. Danny and Mr. Lancer left, headed back to the detention room.

The hunter watched them from the woods beyond the parking lot. He growled angrily.

"That was my prey," he said to no one in particular. He lowered his binoculars, and shifted the large gun on his back.

"But I suppose I have some more interesting prey now," he said. He looked down at his phone, and the picture he had taken of the boy.

"What are you, kid?" he said, "And how do I take you down?" He stood, and headed back into the thick woods. For the first time in a long time, he felt a thrill at the prospect of a new chase.


	2. Chapter 2

Hunter & Hunted

TWO

"Alright, that's time," Mr. Lancer said. Immediately all the students jumped up and ran out the room.

"Fenton, hold on," Mr. Lancer called as Danny was about to leave.

"Wait for me," Danny said to Tucker, then walked to Mr. Lancer's desk.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Mr. Lancer asked. Danny shrugged.

"I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I guess." Mr. Lancer leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"There are students I worry about. Ones I have to look after, or else they get into trouble. You're not one of those students, but these past two weeks I've seen you slipping. Now, I don't want to scare you, but I'd like to sit down with you and at least one of your parents, just to have a conversation."

"That's really not necessary," Danny said.

"Go home and talk to your parents about it. Have them call me, we'll schedule a time," Mr. Lancer said. Danny sighed.

"Okay," he said, "Can I go now?"

"Yeah."

He went to leave the room, but Mr. Lancer stopped him one more time.

"Danny, talk to your parents," he said. Danny nodded.

"Have a good Saturday," Mr. Lancer said, finally dismissing him.

Danny met Tucker outside the school.

"What did Lancer want?" Tucker asked.

"He wants to have a parent teacher conference," Danny said.

"Why?"

"Apparently," Danny replied, "I'm a student he has to 'worry about'." Tucker laughed.

"Whatever man," he said, "There's my dad." They started walking towards the car.

Danny looked over to where the cheerleaders were finishing up practice. Paulina was telling the newest recruits where to put the box of pom-poms. She was a senior this year, most popular girl in school, super hot, so out of his league. She would never go out with him. Ever. Not even if he asked. And he wasn't going to ask, why suffer the humiliation? It wasn't worth possibly having a date with a girl who was perfect, and beautiful, and sweet, and hot, and nice, and hot, and...

"Hey, Tuck," Danny said.

"Yeah?"

"Hold up a minute." Danny dropped his backpack on the concrete, and walked over to the cheerleaders.

"Uh, hey Paulina," he said, nervous. She turned, and smiled.

"Can I help you?" she asked. He laughed a little, and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah. Um...My name's Danny. I was wondering..." His hand touched the necklace he'd put his his pocket earlier.

"Yes?" Paulina said. The cheerleaders behind her giggled. Danny felt his cheeks growing red.

"I..." he said, "I got this for you." He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, and handed it to Paulina.

"And I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me this Friday..." The cheerleaders giggled again.

"Girls," Paulina scolded, "Don't be mean. It's brave for a freshman to ask a senior to the dance!" She turned back to Danny.

"Danny...I've seen you around. You're friends with the goth girl and the guy who's been asking a whole bunch of my friends to the dance."

"Yeah," Danny said. Paulina smiled.

"I _will_ go to the dance with you," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, "You seem nice." She grabbed his arm and pulled a pen from her purse.

"Here is my number," she said, writing on his arm, "Call me. We'll figure out the details."

"That's-that's great!" Danny said, "I'll do that. Call you, I mean." Paulina laughed.

"Cute," she said.

"Bye," Danny said, "Uh, I'll see you later? Monday, I mean. At school."

"Bye Danny," Paulina said. Danny turned and walked back to Tucker, who was standing, open mouthed, by his backpack.

"Did she just say yes?" Tucker asked. Danny grinned.

"Are you going to the dance with Paulina?"

"Yup." Danny picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Dude!" Tucker punched his arm.

"Ow, that hurt!" They started walking to Mr. Foley's car.

"What's your secret?!"Tucker exclaimed, "I couldn't get just any senior to say yes, let alone Paulina!"

"Maybe the problem is you think of them as 'just any' seniors," Danny said. Tucker scoffed.

"Seriously, what did you say?" he asked. Danny shrugged, and climbed into Mr. Foley's car. He wanted to watch Tucker squirm for awhile.

The hunter watched from his car. So the girl now had the amulet. And she meant something to the ghost boy. This would be easier than he had thought.

"Dad," Danny asked, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, what's up?" his dad asked absently. He was in the basement, tinkering with some new invention.

"Mr. Lancer wants to have a parent teacher conference." His dad put his tools down, frowning.

"What about?" he asked. Danny shrugged.

"Dunno..."

"Really?" his dad asked.

"...He said I was...slipping?" Danny replied.

"Huh. Well, I'll give him a call Monday, we'll set up a time."

"Dad," Danny said, "I really don't think this is such a big deal. You and mom have better things to do than-"

"Danny, if Mr. Lancer wants to have a conference, it's probably for a reason. In fact, I should call your mom right now and let her know-"

"Dad!"

"What?"

"Does mom really have to know?" His dad laughed.

"Funny," he muttered, and pulled out his cell phone, calling Maddie.

"Dad!" Danny said, "It's not-" His dad held up a hand.

"Hi hon, Danny just got home-" Danny grabbed at his phone, nearly knocking him over.

"What are you-" A wave of nausea rolled over Danny, and he stumbled, leaning heavily on his dad. He closed his eyes for a moment to make the world stop spinning, but when he opened them, something was wrong. He felt...heavy. And he was taller. He looked down at himself, and found he was looking through his dad's eyes.

"Woah," Danny said, and slapped a hand over his mouth as his dad's voice came out.

"Jack?" his mom asked from over the phone, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah Mom-Maddie! Maddie. I'm okay. Just...ah...just Danny playing a little joke on me, caught me off guard."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup! Yes. I am fine, how are you?"

"Fine...was there something you wanted to tell me?" Danny searched frantically for something to say.

"I just wanted to tell you...I love you. So much. So, so much." There was silence on the other end of the line. Danny held his breath, waiting to get busted.

"Jack, that is so sweet! I love you too. Oh, I've got to go. I'll be home a little later tonight, you should start making dinner without me. Bye! Love you!"

"Bye!" Danny said, but she had already hung up. Now to get out of his dad's body... He closed his eyes.

"Come on," he muttered, and tried taking a step back. There was a weird suction-y feeling, and then he was in his own body again. His dad fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Oops..." Danny said. He crouched down and shook his dad's shoulders.

"Hey...Are you alright?" he asked. Moaning, his dad sat up.

"What happened."

"Well...you told mom about the parent teacher conference. And then she told you to take care of it, because she was going to be super-busy at work. Then I left. I guess you shocked yourself on something down here."

"Huh. I don't remember any of that," his dad said.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" Danny said.

"Nah, I'll be fine," his dad replied.

"Alright. I'm gonna go work on homework," Danny said.

"Okay..." his dad said as Danny ran up the steps to the kitchen. _That was awesome!_ he thought, pulling out his phone to call Tucker.

After dinner, Danny went straight to his room to call Sam. He and Tucker had already brainstormed a list of people he could possess and cause mischief with, and he was sure Sam would have names to add to that list. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Danny," she said.

"Sam! I got a new power today!"

"Really? What?"

"I possessed my dad!" Danny said.

"What? Is he okay? Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Danny said, "But it was so cool! I could make him do whatever I wanted!" There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"...You don't think this is cool, do you?" Danny asked.

"...Well...It is cool. It'll come in handy," Sam said, "I'm just worried about you." Danny laughed.

"Sam, I already have a mom," he replied.

"Who doesn't know about your powers. I'm just standing in until you decide to tell your parents," Sam said. Danny didn't reply.

"Danny?"

"..."

"Danny are you okay?"

"...Sam, I gotta go."

"Wait! Danny-"

Danny hung up the phone, eyes fixed on the figure in the darkened corner of his bedroom. The lamp on the nightstand wasn't bright enough to show the man's face.

"Who are you?" Danny demanded. The man laughed, and stepped forward into the dim light. He had harsh features: a strong brow and chin, with a long nose. His eyes were small and shrewd.

"My name is Adam Kerskul," he said, "And you are quite the interesting..._human_." Danny frowned, suspicious.

"What do you want?" he asked defensively. Kerskul laughed. Danny drew back slightly. A smile seemed all wrong on this man.

"I don't want anything from you," he said, "I want to give something."

"No thanks," Danny said.

"Hold on," Kerskul said, "It has to do with that dragon from earlier today." Danny stood up, keeping the bed between him and the man.

"What dragon?"

"The ghost dragon. I saw you take the amulet, and I thought it only fair to warn you."

"Of what?" Danny asked.

"Why," Kerskul said, "The curse, of course. That amulet belonged to the dragon prince. It is said anyone who wears it is doomed to be destroyed in their anger."

"Wait, what?"

"That's all I know." Kerskul smirked. He walked over to the window and opened it.

"Be careful, ghost boy," he warned, and climbed out onto the roof. Danny ran over to the window, but the man was already gone. Ghosts were one thing, but this was altogether too weird. Whoever the man was, he was all human, and he'd gotten too close, too easily. Danny shut and locked the window, then leaned his head on the glass. He had to get that necklace back from Paulina before something happened to her.

"And he just showed up in your bedroom?" Sam asked, outraged, "Why didn't you tell your parents?" Danny shushed her. It was Monday before school started, and Danny, Sam, and Tucker were standing by the lockers.

"Listen," Danny said, "I spent all yesterday looking through websites about dragon legends, and finally found the one about the dragon prince. Apparently, in the middle ages there was this court where people came and read stories and poetry. And one winter there was this guy there, and a girl-Griselda-fell in love with him. They got married, but on one condition: she would never try to discover his secret. He took her away to his secret castle, but every day he would go to this forbidden room, and when she spied on him she found out he was really a dragon disguised as a man. So he sent her back to the court and she never saw him again."

"That's so sad," Sam said, "But what does this have to do with the necklace?"

"I don't know, but the guy said it belonged to the dragon prince, right? So maybe people who are wearing the necklace turn into dragons."

"You're telling me we're going to have a dragon version of Paulina to deal with?" Sam said, "Isn't normal Paulina bad enough?"

"Okay," Danny said, "I don't get it, what do you have against Paulina?" Sam groaned.

"Boys! You're so blinded by big eyes and boobs," she said.

"Anything wrong with that?" Tucker asked, "Besides, here comes Paulina, and she's not breathing fire or anything."

"At least not literally," Sam muttered, "I can't believe you asked her to the dance."

"I can't believe she said yes," Tucker said. Ignoring them, Danny grinned and waved at Paulina. She smiled, and walked over to them.

"Hey Danny," she said, "How are you?"

"Good, how are you?" he said.

"I'm just fine. I love this necklace you gave me," she said, which she was now wearing.

"Right..." Danny said, "About that. I have a confession to make." Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Sam grab Tucker's arm and drag him away from the conversation.

"What's that?" Paulina asked.

"I didn't buy the necklace...it belonged to my grandmother." Paulina's mouth fell open.

"This is a family heirloom? Oh, Danny, I can't keep it!" Danny smiled. Okay, this was all going pretty well. Now if she just-

"Except," she said, "I kind of have the perfect dress to wear with it to the dance...do you think I could keep it 'till then?" She looked at him, eyebrows drawn together in a concerned expression that had him forgetting what he was going to say.

"Um, yeah. That's fine. Thanks Paulina," he said, "For understanding and everything because my parents were kind of upset when I told them I'd given it to you and you know how that goes because parents are parents and sometimes they really suck although I guess mine are just plain weird because of the whole ghost thing which I totally don't believe in because I'm not weird. At all. Not-weird-guy, that's me!" Paulina giggled.

"Sorry," Danny said, "I guess I just get kind of nervous around you." Paulina leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"It's cute," she said, "Thank you Danny. I'll see you later." Danny nodded emphatically. As Paulina walked away, he leaned back against the lockers.

"So...you didn't get the necklace?" Tucker asked. Danny jumped.

"Gah! Don't do that! And I'm going to get it! I was just...distracted," he said.

"Let's go to class," Sam said. She brushed past him roughly, heading to first period.

"What's with her?" Danny asked.

"I dunno," Tucker replied. Danny sighed.

"Why didn't I just tell her I needed the necklace?" he said, "She even offered!" Tucker patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't take this the wrong way," he said, "But you're awful with women. It takes a certain finesse to understand their wily ways." Danny laughed.

"And how many girls have you asked to the dance so far? Five?" Tucker glared at him.

"See you third period," he said, walking away. Danny smirked, and headed down the hall in the other direction. He passed the dean's office on the way.

"Danny!" Mr Lancer called, "Your dad called. We're meeting next Tuesday after school." Danny gave him a thumbs up, and kept walking. He was not looking forward to next Tuesday.


	3. Chapter 3

Hunter & Hunted

THREE

The hunter was biding his time. He just had to wait 'till the dance, then he could stir things up a little, get some tempers going. And while the ghost-boy was distracted, he would be an easy target.

Danny tried to the necklace back from Paulina, he really did. Three times even. It's just...

"I get all tongue-tied when I talk to pretty girls!" he said to Sam and Tucker during study hall on Friday.

"Gee, thanks," Sam said.

"But Sam, you're different!" he said.

"Yeah, apparently I'm not pretty," Sam snapped. She stood up and stormed across the library to the fiction section.

"Danny," Tucker said, "Let me tell you a thing about girls: They don't like being called ugly."

"I wasn't calling her ugly! It's different with Sam! She's...I dunno...not Paulina."

"So she's not as pretty as Paulina?"

"I didn't say that!" Danny exclaimed, earning him several glares from around the library. He leaned in and hissed at Tucker.

"Listen, what's important right now is we get that necklace back at the dance. I don't want her going the weekend with it when I can't keep an eye on her. And I need both you and Sam there to make sure I don't go all spineless around her." Tucker narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying?" he asked.

"Go ask Sam to the dance. I know neither of you have dates."

"I'm not asking Sam!" Tucker whispered back.

"You have to!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"As your friend, I need you to do this. Paulina's life is on the line!" Tucker groaned.

"Fine!" He stood, and walked over to Sam, looking rather like a criminal headed to his execution.

"What, Tucker?" Sam snapped.

"Sam, will you go to the dance with me?" Sam glanced at him, laughed, and went back to reading her book.

"Sam! Danny needs us there!" Tucker said. He winced as Sam snapped her book shut.

"Tucker, no offense, but I don't need you, or anyone, to take me to a dance. I'm going by myself, no need for you to take one for the team." She brushed past him and went to check out the book. Tucker walked back over to Danny and sat down.

"She's going on her own..." he said. Danny scowled.

"What is her problem? Does she want Paulina to turn into a dragon?" Tucker rolled his eyes.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Not telling, dude."

"Seriously, what?"

"Nope."

"Tuck!"

"Nuh-uh." There was no way Tucker was getting in the middle of this one. He knew there were some things in the universe you didn't interfere with. Sam's feelings were definitely on that list.

That night, Jazz drove Danny to pick up Paulina. At first she refused to go anywhere near the cheerleader's house, but eventually gave into Danny's incessant begging, saying: "Better than Mom and Dad, I guess. Although how you got Paulina to say yes, I have no idea."

And so Danny stood on Paulina's front porch nervously, waiting for someone to answer the door. He had rung once, then twice, just to be sure they heard. When no one came in the next five seconds, he rang a third time, then a fourth-just to be sure. He was about to ring a fifth time-just to be sure-when the door burst open, and a tall gruff-looking man glared down at him. Danny grinned nervously.

"Hello Mr. Gonzalez. I'm here to pick up Paulina..."

"So you're Danny Fenton," Mr. Gonzalez said, sizing him up. Danny nodded, shoving his hands down into his pockets to keep from twisting his fingers together.

"Daddy!" Paulina scolded, "Don't scare him! He's sweet." She slipped around her father, and smiled at Danny.

"Hi," she said. Danny smiled back.

"Hey Paulina...You-you look beautiful!"

"Thank you," she said, swishing her long green dress, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Danny said, "Jazz is driving us."

He pointed to the car, where Jazz gave an impatient wave from the driver's seat.

"Although...Now that I think about it, it's kind of lame to ride with my sister," Danny said. Paulina shook her head and grabbed his hand.

"It's just fine," she said, and pulled him towards the car.

"Have fun sweetheart," her dad called, "Did you remember your rape whistle?"

"Yes daddy!" Paulina called back.

"What about your pepper spray?"

"Yes!" Paulina said.

"You need anything, you call the station and ask for me. I can get to the school with the siren on in two minutes flat," her dad said.

"Danny is a NICE BOY daddy!" she said. She mouthed 'sorry' to Danny as he opened the door for her.

"No big deal," he said, albeit squeakily.

When they got to the school, the dance was in full swing. Paulina jumped out of the car and nearly dragged Danny to the entrance.

"I love dances!" she exclaimed.

"Me too!" Danny said. Actually, that was a lie, he didn't really love dances. Paulina pulled him into the gym.

"This is awesome!" she yelled over the loud drumbeat.

"Yeah!" Danny replied. Another lie. Actually, the decorations kind of sucked. There were speakers all around the room blasting music, but the lights were off so you could barely see anyone. The laser lights that flickered over the ceiling and dancers looked like they could induce seizures, and there were only a couple tables to sit at if you didn't want to dance. Paulina leaned over and yelled into Danny's ear.

"I'm gonna go get into my actual dress!" she said, and left the gym, leaving Danny with the awkward pack of non-dancers by the tables. _Actual dress? Is that normal?_ Danny spotted Tucker in a chair at one of the tables, and walked over to him.

"Okay," he said, "Paulina's in the restroom, we have to figure out a way to get the necklace from her."

"I was thinking about that," Tucker said, bouncing slightly with the music, "Maybe if you can get her to dance and just make the chain intangible, she won't even...woah..."

"What?" Danny asked, turning around. He blinked, just to make sure he wasn't having a hallucination. It was a sight he'd never thought he'd see. It was Sam. In a dress. A tight one. With heels. And fishnet stockings. She stopped at the door, scanning the room, looking like something out of a James Bond movie.

"Kick ass," Tucker muttered.

"No kidding," Danny said. Sam spotted them and walked over.

"Hey," she said, "Where's Paulina?"

"Bathroom," Danny said, "Uh...I've never seen you wear that. Before. Ever." Sam gave him a withering look and put a hand on her hip.

"I'm blending in," she said, and glanced at Tucker's plaid shirt and outrageous tie, "Unlike some people."

"It's hipster!" Tucker said defensively.

"It's not," Sam replied, then turned back to Danny, "Restroom, right? Okay, I'll be back with the necklace."

"Wait," Danny said, "What are you gonna do?" Sam rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, she said, "I'm not going to ruin your chances with Paulina. You can do that all on your own when you guys start dancing." Danny didn't have time to reply as Sam spun on her heel and walked off to the girls' restroom.

Sam found Paulina applying a dark eyeliner over her 'dad approved' makeup. She had changed out of the long green dress into a short black one with rows of sequins all around it. And her heels went from modest summer wedges to full on black stilettos. Not that Sam's outfit was much better, but at least she didn't have to use hairspray to keep her dress from riding up and showing her underwear. She watched Paulina lean back and test her sexiest faces in the mirror. Sam rolled her eyes. This was why her friends were all boys. Their kind of stupid didn't involve double-standards around beauty and promiscuity. Paulina let her hair out of her braid, and ran her hands through it until it looked 'effortlessly effortful'. She paused when she caught sight of Sam.

"Well, looks like Goth girl does have something risky in her closet," she said, leaning back against the sink. Sam narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders. Risqué, she thought, the term is risqué. But she didn't have time to argue over loanwords.

"Listen Paulina, we both know the only reason you came with Danny is to piss off your boyfriend. You have to give him the necklace back, it's important to his family." Paulina smiled, then let out a fake sigh.

"Well, Max is not even here tonight, so I was just gonna blow Danny off, but maybe I should rethink that," she said. She walked up to Sam, and took the necklace off.

"If you want this so badly, here, have it. I don't care. It doesn't mean he's going to come running back to you," she said. She tossed the chain around Sam's neck. Sam crossed her arms.

"What makes you think I want him 'running' to me? As soon as you drop this Mother Teresa act, it's going to crush him. I don't want to deal with that emotional fallout." Paulina laughed.

"See you on the dance floor, sweetie." She patted Sam's head lightly and left the restroom. Sam waited until Paulina was gone, then groaned angrily. _I got the necklace, that's all that matters_, she thought. That wasn't all that mattered though, and it didn't calm her down. In fact, the only thing that she thought might help was the sight of Paulina falling down the steps, or breaking an ankle in her ridiculous heels, or something like that. Sam stormed back out of the restroom and found Tucker.

"Where's Danny? I got his stupid necklace," she snapped.

"He's dancing with Paulina," Tucker said. Sam looked out to the mass of people dancing in the middle of the room.

"Gross," she muttered, watching Danny and Paulina nearly grinding at the edge of the group. She looked back to Tucker, who was watching her skeptically.

"Oh don't look at me like that," she said.

"Like what?"

"Like you know something you _shouldn't_. I'll admit, you're smarter than I'd give you credit for."

"No, I'm really not," Tucker replied, "Danny's just dumber than you think he is."

"Whatever," Sam said. Tucker grabbed a chair and pushed it over to her.

"Wanna sit?" he asked, "Those shoes look like torture devices."

"Thanks, Tuck," she said, sitting down with a sigh.

The hunter watched the goings on from the corner of the room. Things weren't exactly going according to plan. That was alright though, this other girl seemed quite agitated already.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Tucker asked Sam. She shook her head.

"I'm good, thanks," she said. He nodded, and headed straight for the snack table. Once again she looked at Danny and Paulina on the dance floor. The DJ had interrupted the grinding club beats with an obligatory line dance, so the teachers could take a breather from pulling couples apart. Watching them do the 'Cupid Shuffle' was almost worse, because Danny seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, laughing with Paulina as they messed up the insanely simple moves on purpose. Sam felt herself growing angry, and pushed the emotion away. It wasn't fair for her to be mad at Danny. Paulina sure, that girl knew what she was doing. Danny had no idea. He was so dense. _Still_, a part of her (the teenage part) pressed on, _he should just know_. Nearly on cue, a slow song came on, and dozens of people filtered off the dance floor, leaving only couples. Sam watched as Paulina wrapped her arms around Danny's neck and pulled him close. The two swayed side to side slowly in time with the music.

Again, Sam felt anger rise to her surface. It washed over her like hot air on a summer day, making her sweat and her skin turn...scaly? No, that wasn't right. Sam looked down at herself, and saw her skin had turned a sickly greenish color. What the-

The necklace! She was still wearing it! Oh this was bad! She jumped up and ran from the gym before she could turn into a dragon in front of the whole school.

"Come off!" She hissed at the stupid thing, trying to pull the chain from her neck. But it wouldn't come off. How did Paulina spend an entire week with this thing on and NOT turn into a dragon?

Sam tripped in her high heels, and went tumbling to the ground, her ankle twisting painfully. She felt her skin grow hotter, even as she tried to hold back her frustration.

"Damn it!" she muttered, hitting the ground with a fist. The tile cracked under the impact of her now supernatural strength. Sam let out a yell of pain as her skin bristled up into scales, and she felt herself start to grow. Then the words disappeared from her mind, and she had only one wordless thought. The girl in the black dress. She must be found.

Danny shivered. Immediately, he pulled away from Paulina and glanced around for Tucker and Sam.

"Danny, is something wrong?" Paulina asked.

"No, it's just..." There was Tucker, eating mini cookies by the handful. Where was Sam?

"Paulina, I'm sorry, I've got to go," Danny said, and ran out of the gym.

"Sam?!" he called. There was a loud crash from not too far off. He followed the noise, ending up in a hallway close to Mr. Lancer's office.

"Danny?" Paulina called from behind him. Crap. He stopped, and turned to see her chasing after him as quickly as she could in her heels.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she reached him.

"Paulina, go back to the dance!" Danny said.

"No!" Paulina said, "Not until you tell me-" She stopped speaking, staring at something behind Danny. Uh oh. Slowly, he turned. A giant black and purple dragon crouched in front of him, ready to pounce. Except her eyes weren't on him, they were fixed on Paulina. This wasn't a ghost dragon either, it was flesh and blood, and ready to kill. _Come on Sam_, Danny thought, _don't do this_. But Sam was beyond reasoning now.

"Run," Danny whispered.

"What?" Paulina asked. The Sam-dragon drew back her head and sucked in a breath.

"RUN!" Danny yelled, grabbing Paulina's arm and pulling her down a side hallway. They ran down the hall towards the double doors at the end, feeling the heat of the fire warm their backs.

"What is going on?" Paulina screamed.

"I don't know!" Danny yelled back. Judging by the crashing and roaring behind them, the Sam-dragon was chasing after them clumsily in the confined space of the hallway.

Danny and Paulina burst from the doors at the end of the hall, coming out by the football field.

"Come on!" Danny yelled, pulling Paulina towards the field.

"I can't run in these heels!" she yelled back, yanking her hand from Danny's, "And this is-"

Paulina's reply was swallowed by a scream and a roar, as the Sam-dragon grabbed her in her claws and snatched her off the ground.

"No! Paulina!" Danny called. The Sam-dragon stood up on its hind legs, and spread its wings out in the cool night air. Paulina's screaming was drowned out by a great roar, like a whistle in a fog horn. Danny clenched his fists.

"Not so fast," he growled out, "I'm going ghost!" He ran at the Sam-dragon, which simply swatted him with its tail, sending him to the ground roughly. There was a flash of pain, and then darkness. The Sam-dragon focused on the girl. She was making an unpleasant high-pitched noise. It had to stop. This girl had to stop. But there was another noise. Another small creature yelling. This one was...different.

"Let her go, Sam!" Danny yelled. He floated in front of her, pointing to Paulina. The Sam-dragon tilted her head to the side, and turned it slightly to get a better look at him. Danny glared defiantly at her, hoping his ghost form was more intimidating than his human one. The Sam-dragon roared at him, shooting sparks in his direction. She flapped her wings and launched herself off the ground. Crap! Danny spun away from one of her claws, then had to throw himself off to the right to avoid her tail. He tumbled to the grass of the football field, slightly nauseous.

The Sam-dragon touched down after him, dropping a limp Paulina to the ground.

"Sam!" Danny called, "It's me! Danny!" She roared at him, and he dodged another stream of flames. As he looked back up at her open jaws, he saw something glint in the dim light of the stars and moon. The amulet! The chain was caught between two of her teeth. The Sam-dragon turned to find Danny again. He winced as her claws slammed into the ground right by Paulina's head. He had to draw her away before Paulina got squished.

"Over here!" He yelled, and jumped into the air, flying to the other side of the field. The dragon bounded after him, shaking the ground and digging deep scars in the pristine grass. Danny turned invisible before the Sam-dragon could get to close to him, and she skidded to a halt, swinging her head around to try and catch a glimpse of where he'd gone. Danny flew up to her mouth, and gently took hold of the amulet.

"Come on," he whispered, trying to work it out of her teeth. The Sam-dragon froze at the sound of his voice. Danny froze too, watching as her giant purple eye searched back and forth for the source of the sound. Quietly as possible, he reached back to the amulet and started gently pulling on it, but the chain was stuck fast.

"Damn," he hissed, then realized his mistake. The Sam-dragon whirled around, spewing flame, but Danny had already flown to her other side. He had to find a way to get that amulet before anyone noticed the supernatural fireworks show.

Suddenly the Sam-dragon roared, and flopped to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Sam?" Danny yelled after her. What was happening? This was just like the last time, right before the dragon...burst into flames and burned to a crisp. Danny made a quick revision to his earlier thought: He had to find a way to get that amulet before Sam became a pile of ashes on the football field.


	4. Chapter 4

Hunter & Hunted

FOUR

Danny flew down to the writhing Sam-dragon and grabbed hold of her jaw. She began shaking her head rapidly, rattling his brains. The necklace danced back and forth in his vision, taunting him. Only a sudden jerk to the side and an instant of free fall let him grab hold of the stupid thing. Danny tugged on the amulet, but it was stubbornly stuck.

"Come on!" he shouted at it, "Come loose!"

Danny winced as the Sam-dragon let out a pained roar. He grasped the necklace with both his hands, and braced his feet against her neck.

"Come OUT!" he shouted, throwing all of his weight against the necklace. With a snap, the chain broke, and Danny went flying backwards with the amulet in hand. He hit the ground and rolled head over heel several times before stopping, face down, on the field. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Ow," he said. Then he spotted Sam. She was laying motionless-human-down the field. Danny shoved the amulet in his pocket and ran over to her. Kneeling down, he shook her shoulders slightly.

"Sam? Sam, are you alive?" he asked. Sam moaned, and swatted his hands away.

"Let me die, please," she said, and buried her face in her elbow. Danny shook her again.

"Sam, you have to get up," Danny said. Sitting up, she glared at him. She was a mess. Her hair was in her face, her dress was riding up, and her stockings were torn. Her ankle was swelling up too, and turning a deep purple. Reaching down, she slid her shoes off, sighing with relief.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You...turned into a dragon," Danny replied, not sure how else to break the news.

"I know that," Sam said, "But what did I do? Help me up." Danny helped her to her feet-or rather, foot, as he replied:

"You went after Paulina. So I stopped you."

"Is she alright?" Sam asked. She tried to walk, but yelped when she put any weight on her ankle. Danny grabbed her by the waist, then pulled one of her arms over his shoulder.

"Careful," he said.

"No, really?" Sam replied angrily, but leaned on him all the same. They hobbled over to where Paulina was laying.

"Did she see you?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so," Danny said. They stared awkwardly at her for a couple moments.

"Well come on then," Sam said, "Let's wake her up and get out of here."

"Wait," Danny said.

"What?" Sam asked. Danny glared into the shadows at the base of the stadium seats. He could've sworn he saw something move. A man came into the light.

"Kerskul," Danny said, "What are you doing here?" Kerskul smiled, and pulled a knife from his belt.

"Hunting," he said. Danny half dropped Sam to the ground, and jumped in front of her and Paulina. Kerskul chuckled.

"Oh don't be ridiculous. They aren't worthy of my hunt. A ghost boy, however...that is something different."

"Who are you?" Danny demanded. Kerskul didn't answer, but instead started to approach Danny.

"I'll skin you, boy," he said.

"Danny, go ghost!" Sam called from behind him.

"I can't! I already-!" Kerskul leaped forward and swiped at him with the knife. Danny ducked to the side, but it was far too close for comfort.

"Well do _something_!" Sam said. Danny jumped away from the knife again.

"Listen," he said, "I don't know why you hunt ghosts, but I'm half human too."

It didn't seem like Kerskul was listening. He was in a half crouch now, grinning madly, eyes gleaming.

"Not all ghosts are evil," Danny said, "I'm a good ghost. I help people." He dodged another swipe of the knife.

"Let me help you," he said. Kerskul growled at him, like some sort of animal. Without warning, he leapt forward. Danny grabbed his wrists, but Kerskul knocked him to the ground, pinning him. Danny tried to flip them over, or kick Kerskul hard enough to get away, or even head-butt him, but nothing worked.

"Danny!" Sam shouted. She tried to stand, but the pain in her ankle kept her anchored to the ground. Looking around frantically, she grabbed one of her shoes and threw it as hard as she could at Kerskul. The sharp heel hit him in the back.

"Let him go!" she shouted. Kerskul froze. Slowly he stood, and turned to Sam. Danny scrambled up and ran in front of him.

"Don't even think about it," he said. Kerskul shoved him aside and started walking towards Sam.

"Stop!" Danny shouted. Sam picked up her second shoe, and held it like some sort of weapon.

"Stay away from me, I'm warning you!" she said.

Danny rolled back onto his feet, and glared at Kerskul from behind. He couldn't go ghost, or use any of his powers. He was completely useless.

An idea floated to the top of his mind, only partially formed. But it was all he had. Bracing himself, he ran straight at Kerskul's back and crashed into him, throwing the both of them back on the ground. Danny felt himself grow dizzy, and then he felt _changed_. As if he was wearing someone else's shoes. And he was, literally. Making Kerskul's body stand, he laughed a little.

"Yes!" he said. And was promptly hit in the head with a shoe.

"Ow! What the heck Sam?" he snapped.

"Where's Danny?" Sam asked, panicking, "What happened to him!? If you hurt him-"

"Sam, it's me," Danny made Kerskul say, "I possessed him. It's Danny." Sam's eyes grew wide.

"You...I...How...Oh never mind. What now?" Danny started to reply, but an intense pain shot through his mind. Shouting, he fell to his knees and grabbed the sides of Kerskul's head.

"Danny?" Sam asked, trying to scoot over to him.

"Get out!" he yelled, "Get out! Get out!" Sam watched him, confused.

"How are you here?" he yelled, "What are you? Get out! Get out! How-OUT!" He let out another scream of pain, then collapsed on the ground.

"Danny!" Sam said, pushing herself across the grass towards him.

Danny couldn't see anything. He had no form, no eyes, he just was. And he wasn't the only one there. He could feel something else. Kerskul.

"Get out!" Kerskul bellowed at him from all sides.

"Get out, this one is mine! You can't take it!" It wasn't like this when he possessed his dad. His dad had no idea what was going on.

"How are you doing this?" Danny asked. If a normal human wasn't able to sense him...

"Get out get out get out!"

"You're a ghost!" Danny exclaimed, "You're possessing this guy!"

"OUT!"

"You get out!" Danny shouted. He swelled, filling their space, pushing Kerskul outwards. The other ghost pushed back, but Danny was stronger, and he was angry.

"Let him go, Kerskul," he ordered. Kerskul skittered around, but he couldn't hide. Danny pushed the last of him out of the man's mind, and found in the back corner a small, withered presence. He reached out to it, trying to wake it. But the world around him was fading. He was beginning to feel things again. His fingers, the grass beneath him, someone shaking him.

"Danny!"

Danny jerked awake in the man's body. Sam was hovering over him worriedly.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Danny nodded.

"Yeah," he made the man say, "Give me a sec." Closing his eyes, he rolled away from the body he was possessing. As he sat up on the grass beside the man, he was back in his own skin.

"Danny, he's not waking up," Sam said. Danny looked down at the man.

"Call an ambulance," he said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and handing it to Sam.

"As far as we know, we found him in the field after you fell down the hill." Sam took the phone and called 911, launching into a frantic conversation with the person on the other end of the line. Within a few minutes, they heard the sirens, and an ambulance came roaring onto the field as students from the dance formed a crowd at the top of the stadium, looking on with sick fascination.

Danny and Sam were still in the hospital hours later. Turns out Paulina had a concussion, and Sam's ankle was broken. The man Kerskul had possessed still hadn't woken up. The doctors had him on life support, but said he might never wake up after whatever he'd been through. The police had questioned all three teenagers thoroughly, and Danny was just glad Paulina's dad was too concerned with her safety to beat him to a pulp. He and Sam had presented the same story to their interrogators: they had gotten bored with the dance and gone out to the field, Sam and Paulina were playing around on the hill beside the seats, Sam tripped and fell and took Paulina with her. It was just by coincidence that the guy was down in the field. Danny wasn't sure the police believed them, but they weren't doing anything illegal, they were just being stupid kids.

"What time is it?" Sam asked. Danny checked his phone.

"12:30. They've been talking with our parents for forever," he said.

"Well if any of the officers mentioned that Paulina thinks a giant dragon attacked her, your parents are probably doing most of the talking," Sam retorted. Danny snorted.

"What?" Sam said, "You know it's true." Danny shrugged.

"How's your ankle?"

"Better. And they gave me some pretty strong pain meds," Sam said. She looked at Danny.

"I'm sorry I turned into a dragon."

"It's not your fault. I just wish I knew why it happened."

"I got mad," Sam said, "And when I got really angry, I started changing." Danny frowned.

"I guess that makes sense...Why were you so angry?" he asked. Sam pursed her lips.

Danny slouched down in his chair.

"Did _I_ make you mad?" he asked. Sam took a deep breath, and spoke uncertainly.

"No, not really," Sam said, "It's just...You really don't know Paulina, Danny. Not like I do. You don't know what she-"

"Danny!" Sam winced as Paulina's voice cut right through her words. The cheerleader ran over to them and threw her arms around Danny's neck. Danny grinned.

"Paulina, what's this all about?" She drew back, and shoved her face up close to his.

"You saved me from the dragon! You are so much braver than I thought!"

"Well, I...well, I guess," Danny said.

"There wasn't a dragon," Sam tried to say, but Paulina cut her off.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, and kissed Danny on both cheeks.

"Paulina!" her father called, "Come on, it's time to go home."

"Coming daddy! Thank you Danny! See you Monday!" She kissed his cheek again and then dashed off to join her father, who sent one last glare to Danny before putting an arm around her shoulders and walking her out of the hospital doors. Sam looked at the stupid smile on Danny's face and thought it was a good thing she no longer had the amulet. She had to find some other way to save Danny from Paulina.

* * *

Finished! Finally! I'll be working on the next story in this series and posting soon, so keep an eye out.


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